FRANKFURT, 22 September 2017: The chief of Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa has said he hopes to buy up to 78 planes from bankrupt Air Berlin, dismissing fears the insolvency would grant him a near-monopoly over the skies.

Top priority was “stabilising” the status of some 38 aircraft Lufthansa already “wet-leases” — including their crews — from the smaller firm, Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr told journalists in Frankfurt on Wednesday evening.

“Wet-leasing” refers to airlines leasing aircraft from each other rather than a leasing company. Read more

TIANJIN, 21 September 2017: Airbus on Wednesday inaugurated its first completion centre for large aircraft in China, a new asset for the European manufacturer in heated competition with American rival Boeing.

China is one of the Western manufacturers’ key battlegrounds, with its travellers taking to the skies in ever-growing numbers.

In Tianjin, a port city 150 km (93 miles) from Beijing, Airbus already has an assembly line for the single-aisle aircraft A319 and A320, the first of its kind outside Europe. Read more

BERLIN, 1 September 2017: Ryanair chief executive Michael O’ Leary said, Wednesday, his airline would not make a bid for insolvent Air Berlin, slamming what he called a German “stitch-up” designed to benefit Lufthansa.

Several airlines are jostling to take over parts of Air Berlin after it filed for insolvency earlier this month, a process Ryanair fiercely criticised.

The chief executive of the Irish no-frills airline said at a press conference in Berlin that Ryanair would only join the scramble for assets if it “was a fair and open process”. Read more

LONDON, 15 August 2017: A French start-up is reaching for the skies with a flight-sharing app, matching pilots with passengers looking for a low-cost way to take off in a private aircraft.

“It’s a great way to get on planes. It’s quite a unique experience. It’s something new,” says Adam Nicholas, 27, at an airfield close to London.

He is readying for his second trip with Wingly, a French firm connecting passengers and pilots for short flights, and the undisputed market leader in Europe with a community of more than 80,000 members. Read more

BERLIN, 7 July 2017: Airbus said Wednesday it had won a major order from China of 140 planes for USD22.8 billion, during a visit by President Xi Jinping to Berlin.

The European aircraft maker said it had sealed the agreement with China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS), which chief executive Tom Enders called “one of the biggest contracts signed in a long time by Airbus”.

JAKARTA, 5 July 2017: Lion Air took deliver of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, earlier this week.

Earlier in the year, Malaysian-based Malindo Air, which is also part of the Lion Air Group and due to be rebranded Batik Air Malaysia, took delivery of the first Boeing 737 MAX-8 from the US aircraft manufacturer. Read more

LE BOUGET, FRANCE, 27 June 2017: This year’s Paris Air Show at Le Bourget has proved a “good vintage” with orders up 13% though fewer visitors showed up, organisers said as the event wound down Sunday.

Tight security owing to an ongoing state of emergency in the wake of several terror attacks in France in the past 18 months saw the number of visitors slide compared with the last edition two years ago — the event alternates with Farnborough in England.

But orders rose to USD150 billion (134 billion euros) compared with the USD130 billion the industry put in its order books two years ago, with giants Boeing and Airbus between them taking the lion’s share with USD114 billion — USD74.8 billion and USD39.7 billion respectively. Read more

LE BOURGET, FRANCE, 23 June 2017: AirAsia has signed an agreement with Airbus to order an additional 14 A320ceo aircraft to meet higher than expected near-term growth on the carrier’s regional network.

The contract, which is subject to AirAsia board approval, was announced at the Paris Air Show Thursday.

It will see the total number of A320 family aircraft ordered by AirAsia rise to 592, reaffirming its position as the largest airline customer for the Airbus single aisle product line. Read more